Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

Needed to replace my Major wheeler that got burned up last summer. Got this at Lowes for half price - 8 bucks. I know it's late in the season but figured if I get a head start maybe it will bloom next spring.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

August 28 2012, 4:16 PM

It probably won't bloom for you in the fall. It blooms for a month or so late spring thru early to mid summer and may spit out a few more late blooms. Make sure you keep it well trained because it will root along the stem anywhere and is known for its aggressiveness. Sorry to be somewhat negative but you need to know what it can do. It smells great, hummingbirds like it and songbirds are fond of its berries - another way it gets all over the landscape.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

August 28 2012, 10:00 PM

It is one aggressive vine I just hope you never want to remove it. My mother had one and when she passed my sister and I decided to remove it and that was one major job , we kept finding roots coming up from it. On the good side it does have a nice aroma that mom always loved.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

August 30 2012, 8:47 PM

does the tag really say japanese honeysuckle??? here in NJ i have fought this plant taking over my side yard, my holly bushes ... everywhere ... i did not want it ... yes it is awesome smelling in early spring ... BUT INVASIVE!!!!! It loves to entangles the same areas in my yard as the virgina creeper and poison ivy ... so do beware ...

i haven't spotted it ever at Lowes .. but then i am in NJ ...

if you want honeysuckle you need to stick to coral honeysuckle (unless you have a spot where you want nothing but this plant and have places for it to climb).. and i have definitely found this (coral honeysuckle).. on occasions .. at Lowes ... It is a native honeysuckles .. .blooms wonderfully in April .. but will continue til frost .. if watered occasionally .. sometimes the aphids will "bug" it .. but a bottle of water with a few drops of ivory soap usually cures it ...

don't get me wrong .. as a child .. i used to love picking the flowers off of japanese honeysuckle and licking it ... and smelling it ... yummmmmm ...

the hummingbirds absolutely adore the coral honeysuckle .... it doesn't quite have the exotic fragrance nor is it quite as intoxicating as japanese honeysuckle .. BUT it absolutely will behave ... AND is much prettier than the japanese honeysuckle ... And much longer lasting !!

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

August 31 2012, 4:31 AM

It's possible - just possible - that this particular variety of Japanese Honeysuckle may be less invasive than others. You never know. If you keep it in a pot, it won't get away from you, but it also may not perform particularly well - this is a species that generally likes to send out runners and establish a major root system. A big pot - ie half a large wine barrel - might do the trick.

Growing up in the country, we had this plant growing along a few sections of chain-link fence. It easily took over, bending the fence where needed to accommodate its growth. Just be forewarned.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

August 31 2012, 7:48 AM

growing up in north Louisiana and east Texas, the only honeysuckle we ever saw was the Japanese honeysuckle. It would grow along all the fence lines and as previously noted the smell in spring was intoxicating. As a kid we always waited for the blooms to open so we could suck out the nectar. My granny had one growing along the back fence of her small backyard garden. In your situation being on the road quite a bit this one might be more forgiving for you but the down side is that it only has a short bloom period compared to the native Coral honeysuckle. I also think you will need a much bigger pot for it though.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

August 31 2012, 8:36 AM

My neighbor has Japanese Honeysuckle that keeps coming into my yard. It's behind her fence where she doesn't see the mess it's made. She gets it creeping into her yard, and I have it pouring into mine. I've paid to have it all removed, and the man who did it swore it would never come back. I knew better but thought it at least wouldn't be as bad. A year later it was bad, and the next year it was coming into my yard again. It's really a struggle to keep it clear of my yard.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

Taken right from the link you provided is that it is considered a noxious weed in Texas and it is hard to control due too fruit seeds. Not sure that pot is going to be enough.

I have some growing along the back of my yard. It is pretty wild there to begin with so I don't really care. As others stated, it does not flower as long as the Major Wheeler, you will probably have a bear vine 95% of the time. With the risk and the short flowering season perhaps you should call some local nurseries to see what they might have.

I am surprised that Lowes would be selling this in Texas since it is considered a weed there.

"In the United States Japanese Honeysuckle is classified as a noxious weed in Texas[4], Illinois, and Virginia, and is banned in New Hampshire.[5] It grows extremely rapidly in parts of America such as southwestern Ohio and is virtually impossible to control in naturalized woodland edge zones due to its rapid spread via tiny fruit seeds"

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

August 31 2012, 5:04 PM

Well ill see what it looks like in a month when i get back. Ive got some big pots i can put it in. We had this on the back fence when i was a kid and dad would not rest till it was gone. Took him years

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

September 9 2012, 9:05 PM

resurrecting an old post, lol... sorry.

Just wanted to add my two cents to the discussion on the invasive potential of this horrible vine. Here in the northwest, this is also considered a noxious weed. Both it an L. periclymenum, the Dutch honeysuckle, are both extremely invasive. They spread by seed into wooded parks from garden plants in the surrounding neighborhoods, and are difficult to erradicate just by pulling. I've seen vines climb 4 feet into the canopy of conifers here, and our trees are not evolved to handle that kind of vine load. Often they end up pulling the trees down as the plants get bigger and heavier.

Worse than that, they hybridize with the native Lonicera hispidula. At this point L. hispidula seems to be holding its own, but this could eventually genetically "swamp" the native vines, since L. japonica is so much more aggressive. I've watched that happening over the years with the native bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata) which hybridizes with all those wonderful ornamental and fruiting cherries everyone thinks are such hot stuff. I think they are weeds...

I cringe when I hear people saying they plant things like this (or holly, cotoneaster, etc) because the birds like it. Yes, they do. But that is part of the problem where invasives are concerned. Fruits are designed by the plants for the birds or something else to pick up the seeds and carry them off to some where else. Basically, when you plant an exotic berry and watch the birds eat it, you are effectively sending that bird off to plant weeds in your neighbors' gardens, or worse the natural areas around you.

Personally I don't think its worth it, but if you do keep it please trim off the berries.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

July 18 2013, 12:29 PM

Well, almost a year later this thing hasnt bloomed at all. No berries or seeds either, I've been looking for em. I thought it would climb up my trellis but it wont even do that. Maybe it needs a bigger pot -

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

July 18 2013, 4:00 PM

Mike,

I really hate to sound like the bad guy here, but we recommend in our Gardening for Hummingbirds program that people not plant this particular honeysuckle. It smothers and strangles native plants and is really bad for the environment. Here's a link:

We really are not two of those sometimes annoying "native plant" people who go "tsk, tsk" when someone uses an exotic plant in their garden (and we have many ourselves---we just make sure that they are not invasive in our habitat), but this is a plant that we feel has an outstanding native counterpart (Lonicera sempervirens) and that we can make some kind of an impact by campaigning against the use of Japanese Honeysuckle.

I'm afraid that having it in a pot (although it may never bloom in such a small pot), does not really solve the problem of it's invasiveness since it is also propagated by the numerous seeds contained in the berries that follow the flowers (birds eat the seeds and then create new plants.)

Sometimes a bargain is really not a bargain when it's the wrong plant. We cannot tell you what to do, but we think you would be so much happier with the right honeysuckle and you could give it a happy home in the ground where it belongs.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

July 18 2013, 4:29 PM

I realize this is politically incorrect statement but the cow is long out of the barn on this one and there is no bringing it back in. While there is every reason to keep it out of ones yard because it is so rampant it long ago became one of the most common vines in the east maybe even more common than poison ivy and virginia creeper. And it does have wildlife value. A comparison study was done a few years ago on two patches of woods in Pennsylvania, one without Japanese Honeysuckle and one with it. The "with it" woods had higher numbers of birds. I am not in favor of this plant being offered for sale but another one within its invasion zone won't make any difference.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

July 18 2013, 4:35 PM

Mike,

I have certainly seen the rampant overgrowth of Japanese Honeysuckle down here, but I love it anyway and I believe that it is a major source of nectar for northbound Ruby-throateds in the spring. Makes me wonder what hummers used before it was introduced into this country in 1881, the year my grandfather was born. To many southerners, the sweet fragrance often seems to be an affirmation of the south.

Nevertheless, if it is bad for the ecology, we need to restrain ourselves. Of course, if it fails to flower, no seeds will be produced, but no hummers will be benefited either. Actually, I have never been able to keep it alive in my yard.

Re: Got a new plant - Japanese Honeysuckle

July 18 2013, 4:35 PM

Ward,

There is no point in arguing and I agree that birds and other wildlife love this plant, but I can only imagine how many new plants would be created in a warm place like Austin, Texas if Mike plants this in his yard. Nurseries should not be allowed to sell this plant period. I like to see a native plant survive if it can and Japanese Honeysuckle takes that chance away. We struggle trying to keep Trumpet Creeper under control in our zone 5a garden, I can't even imagine how much work it would be to keep this honeysuckle under control in a zone 8 or 9 garden.

However, I don't want Bob to shut this thread down, so this is my last comment and Mike should do what he likes.

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